Standing male shrine figure "anjenu" · Nigeria, Idoma · ID: 3040478
Walter Glaser, Basel, Switzerland
Zemanek-Münster, Würzburg, 21 February 2003, lot 213
Peter Fuchs, Munich, Germany
German Private Collection, Munich
Description
wood, kaolin, plant fibre, fur cuff, raised tattoos on the temples, scarification in shape of a black line running from forehead, across nose brigde and chin down to the navel, loincloth saturated with mass, sacrificial traces (feathers) encrusted sacrificial mass, missing parts (head), crack (upper part of the body), abrasion of paint, rep. (right foot tip), base;
these cult images represent bush- or water spirits, believed to come from both the spectacular anthills of this region and from the Benue River. “Anjenu” spirits possess people (mostly women) and make them sick, yet if properly propitiated, they can also cure. Most women’s afflictions are related to issues of fertility and health, and women are the main adherents of the “anjenu” cult.
Comparing literature
Cole, Herbert M., Invention and Tradition, Munich, London, New York 2012, p. 82